U.S. patent number 8,375,657 [Application Number 12/524,752] was granted by the patent office on 2013-02-19 for insulating glazing unit comprising a curved pane.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Saint-Gobain Glass France. The grantee listed for this patent is Detlef Buchwald, Hubert Hauser, Stefan Immerschitt, Oliver Kroessel, Helmut Maueser. Invention is credited to Detlef Buchwald, Hubert Hauser, Stefan Immerschitt, Oliver Kroessel, Helmut Maueser.
United States Patent |
8,375,657 |
Buchwald , et al. |
February 19, 2013 |
Insulating glazing unit comprising a curved pane
Abstract
In an insulating glazing unit including at least one curved
rigid pane, another rigid pane and a spacer frame joining the two
panes together by an impermeable adhesive, a space is created
between the panes. The spacer frame has a variable cross-section
over its length, looking in the direction of its longitudinal
extension, in the region of the joining between the curved rigid
pane and the other rigid pane. The spacer frame, in at least in the
aforementioned region, includes a plastically deformed elastomer
material when the two rigid panes are mutually pressed
together.
Inventors: |
Buchwald; Detlef (Berlin
Allemagne, DE), Kroessel; Oliver (Berlin Allemagne,
DE), Maueser; Helmut (Herzogenrath Allemagne,
DE), Immerschitt; Stefan (Hennef Allemagne,
DE), Hauser; Hubert (Wuerselen Allemagne,
DE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Buchwald; Detlef
Kroessel; Oliver
Maueser; Helmut
Immerschitt; Stefan
Hauser; Hubert |
Berlin Allemagne
Berlin Allemagne
Herzogenrath Allemagne
Hennef Allemagne
Wuerselen Allemagne |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
DE
DE
DE
DE
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Saint-Gobain Glass France
(Courbevoie, FR)
|
Family
ID: |
39738863 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/524,752 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2008 |
PCT
Filed: |
January 29, 2008 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/FR2008/050131 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
July 28, 2009 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2008/107612 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
September 12, 2008 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20100031590 A1 |
Feb 11, 2010 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
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Feb 6, 2007 [DE] |
|
|
10 2007 005 757 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/204.593;
428/34; 52/204.62 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E06B
3/66309 (20130101); B32B 17/10055 (20130101); E06B
3/66 (20130101); E06B 3/66328 (20130101); E06B
2003/66385 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E06B
7/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;52/204.62,204.593
;428/34 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
|
|
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30 02 904 |
|
Aug 1980 |
|
DE |
|
38 18631 |
|
Dec 1989 |
|
DE |
|
91 16 206 |
|
Apr 1992 |
|
DE |
|
197 23 596 |
|
Oct 1998 |
|
DE |
|
100 24 525 |
|
Nov 2001 |
|
DE |
|
203 04 806 |
|
Aug 2003 |
|
DE |
|
0 805 254 |
|
Nov 1997 |
|
EP |
|
0 921 260 |
|
Jun 1999 |
|
EP |
|
0921260 |
|
Sep 1999 |
|
EP |
|
1 195 497 |
|
Apr 2002 |
|
EP |
|
1 657 396 |
|
May 2006 |
|
EP |
|
Primary Examiner: Chapman; Jeanette E
Assistant Examiner: Kenny; Daniel
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier
& Neustadt, L.L.P.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An insulating glazing unit comprising: at least one curved rigid
pane; another rigid pane to be mutually pressed together with the
at least one curved rigid pane; a spacer frame for joining the
curved rigid pane and the other rigid pane together by an
impermeable adhesive, creating a space between the panes when the
curved pane and the other rigid pane are mutually pressed together,
which spacer frame has a variable height over its length, looking
toward the curvature of the pane, in a curvature region of the
curved rigid pane, such that the space between the panes has a
portion with a smaller height and portion with a larger height in
the curvature region, wherein the spacer frame includes plural
segments, wherein the segments of the spacer frame corresponding to
the curvature region have a uniform height in the entirety of said
curvature region that is larger than the height of the segments of
the spacer frame not located in the curvature region, wherein, upon
pressing together the at least one curved rigid pane and the
another rigid pane, the spacer frame comprises, in said curvature
region, an elastomer material which is plastically deformed to
provide at least one local overthickness as viewed in the direction
of the height of the space between the panes.
2. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
metal insert of constant width is embedded in the spacer frame.
3. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
spacer frame is manufactured from a continuous extruded section
with an initially constant height and including only a single
welding point.
4. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, comprising a
curved pane and a flat pane, or two curved panes having different
curvatures, in which unit the elastomer spacer frame compensates in
the latter case for differences in curvature by a plastic
deformation.
5. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
variable height of the spacer frame is produced in the curvature
region by pressing and displacement of the elastomer material.
6. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
rigid panes are made of glass or plastic.
7. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 6, wherein a
rigid glass pane includes prestressed or partially prestressed or
unprestressed glass.
8. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at
least one rigid pane is a laminated pane made up of two glass
and/or plastic rigid panes joined together by surface adhesion.
9. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, including a
transparent viewing field.
10. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 9, further
comprising an electrical functional element of a surface lamp, or a
solar cell, or a display screen.
11. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
electrical functional element lies within the space between the
panes.
12. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 10, wherein the
electrical functional element is housed between the rigid panes of
the insulating glazing unit.
13. The insulating glazing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
secondary sealant surrounds the entire spacer frame on the outside.
Description
The invention relates to an insulating glazing unit comprising a
curved pane.
The term "insulating glazing unit" should be understood within the
context of the present invention to mean a flat unit formed by at
least two rigid panes and a spacer frame joining these two panes
together. The spacer frame is assembled on the inner faces of the
panes by means of thin adhesive layers. The two main faces facing
each other of the rigid panes and the spacer frame define a space
between the panes which as a general rule is sealed from air and
moisture. The term "rigid" refers here to the relative rigidity of
the panes made of glass or plastic in comparison with softer
materials.
For the objectives of the invention described here, rigid panes
made of glass and plastic are considered, these being just as well
in monolithic form as in composite form (comprising at least two
rigid panes joined together by surface bonding with an adhesive
layer or sheet). Furthermore, it is possible to use prestressed
glass panes just as well as those that are partially prestressed or
not prestressed.
Document EP 0 921 260 B1 discloses such an insulating glazing unit
with a flat rigid pane and a curved rigid pane of cylindrical
shape. In the region of the relatively high curvature, the spacer
frame with a hollow section of this glazing unit is provided with a
protruding rib which has to fill the crescent-shaped slot between
the straight hollow section and the curved pane. Such a special
construction of the spacer frame is relatively complicated and
therefore expensive.
Document EP 1 657 396 A2 teaches an insulating glazing unit with a
curved pane of cylindrical shape, the spacer frame of which is made
up of a solid section segment, for example made of glass, in the
aforementioned curvature region.
Hollow-section spacer frames are for most of the time filled with a
desiccant which, to a certain extent, extracts any residual
moisture from the space between the panes and any moisture
subsequently penetrating thereinto. In this way, the internal
vapour deposit on the inside of the panes is lastingly prevented,
just as long as no external damage occurs (for example fracture of
a pane, debonding between the spacer frame and the panes).
Likewise, document DE 203 04 806 U1 discloses among other
insulating glazing units with curved rigid panes of cylindrical
shape, in which the two panes may have different radii of
curvature. However, that document is silent on the subject of the
production of the spacer frame in this curvature region.
It is widely known to manufacture spacer frames for insulating
glazing units from an extrudable elastomer material, optionally a
thermoplastic elastomer. This has in particular the objective of
minimizing heat transfer by thermal conduction in the edge region
of the insulating glazing units ("warm-edge" insulating glazing).
However, these elastomeric spacer frames impose yet other
requirements in order for their impermeability to water vapor
diffusion to be able to be compared with values for metal spacer
frames. The elastomer material alone is insufficient. Consequently,
most elastomer spacer frames also include additional metal inserts
or are metallized on the outside or provided with a thin film. It
is also known to mix these materials with moisture-drying agents in
the space between the panes.
Document EP 0 875 654 A1 discloses a hollow-section spacer frame
made of an elastomer material, the mechanical strength of which is
increased by the incorporation of glass fibers.
Document EP 1 195 497 A2 discloses the manufacture of an insulating
glazing unit with an elastomer spacer frame that can also be
plastically deformed after its deposition (extrusion) on one of the
rigid panes. In order for the air displaced during the placing of
the second pane by the compression of the spacer frame to be able
to escape, without it being necessary firstly to provide an opening
in the spacer frame, the spacer frame is firstly, according to this
disclosure, compressed on one side more strongly than is actually
necessary, until the pane has been placed on the opposite side. The
pane is then placed on this opposite side of the spacer frame,
which is compressed to its set thickness. In this case, and just
before closing off the last slot, the air still trapped is
displaced several times. In a final step, the side of the spacer
frame initially compressed more strongly is relaxed to its "set
thickness". However, that document does not relate to the
manufacture of curved panes in such an insulating glazing unit.
Also known, from document 30 02 904 A1 and from the trade mark
"Swiggle Strip", is an elastomer material with a flexible metal
insert, for example for spacer frames of insulating glazing units.
This material is also suitable, according to the information
provided by the Internet site
http://www.bentglassdesign.com/glasstypes.html (status in January
2007), for joining together two rigid panes curved in the same
direction of an insulating glazing unit. In the curved glazed unit
shown here, the distance between the panes is the same everywhere,
even in the curved regions.
The problem at the basis of the invention is how to provide another
insulating glazing unit comprising at least one curved pane and a
spacer frame, which has a variable cross-section, considered along
its longitudinal extension, in the curvature region of the
pane.
This problem is solved according to the invention. The features of
the secondary claims present advantageous embodiments of this
invention.
Starting from known insulating glazing units comprising curved
rigid panes, the curvature of the spacer frame is obtained
according to the invention by the plastic deformation of the spacer
frame material imposed when pressing the curved pane. This is
noticed on the finished product because the spacer frame has local
overthicknesses due to the displaced material, which are of course
thicker in the region of the largest deformation than in the region
of the largest arc height. Outside the space between the panes, the
overthicknesses may optionally be removed/eliminated. Independently
of this, they may be masked in a known manner by the positioning of
an external or secondary (polysulfide finishing) sealant.
The material described in document DE 30 02 904 A1 is very suitable
for this application according to the invention, optionally after
certain modifications that will be described further below. Of
course, other similar materials may also be employed for
compensating for the differences in curvature, provided that they
have the necessary plastic deformability. There is absolutely no
mention in said document of a thermoplastic material which must
firstly be heated for the deformation or which can be deformed only
in the still-hot state after the positioning operation. Materials
able to be durably deformed plastically at ambient temperature are
also in principle suitable, provided that they have the necessary
strength values for the insulating composite and sufficient
adhesion to the faces of the rigid panes.
Even though the preferred application is the combination of a
curved pane with a flat pane, two panes of different curvature may
however also, according to the invention, be joined together using
the compensation capability of the elastomer spacer frame in the
region of different curvatures.
Of course, the invention may be applied not only with curved panes
of cylindrical shape, but also with curved panes in the space right
up to their edges, in which there are therefore more than two
curved lateral edges to be joined to the spacer frame. In this
case, the deformability of the spacer frame material at each curved
edge is used, in which it is necessary to compensate for the
different bends and different curvatures between the pairs of
panes.
When implementing the present invention, it may be worthwhile to
use different base heights for the spacer frame on the uncurved
edges and on the edges in the curvature region, that is to say to
produce the spacer frame for example from a total of four segments
(two pairs of different segments). In the curvature region, a wider
embodiment with the required compression volume will be used, while
in the uncurved region the section may be narrower. This has the
advantage that the material does not have to be compressed as much
on the longitudinal edges. Thus, greater arc heights can be
produced.
However, this embodiment has the drawback that at each corner there
is a bonding or junction point, which must also be sealed.
In such an embodiment, it would also be possible to manufacture the
spacer frame segments, in which no curvature is necessary, from a
conventional material, including the usual metal spacer frames. It
would even be conceivable to manufacture the entire spacer frame
from conventional metal sections and to provide them only in the
curvature region with a layer of plastically deformable material
capable of compensating for the curvature. The intention here is
not to compensate for small inequalities of a pane (which is of
course possible also to a small extent with the normal adhesive
materials between the spacer frame and the surface of the panes),
but exclusively to compensate for differences in curvature with arc
heights of several millimeters.
Furthermore, the invention may be implemented, depending on the
height of the curvature, with precurved panes or also with flat
panes, the curvature of which is imposed only during the
compression of the spacer frame, within the context of their
elastic deformability. Such a "cold bend" may be maintained in the
end-product by means of the strong adhesion of the spacer frame,
insofar as the spacer frame material has dimensional stability and
creep resistance that are sufficient in the long term.
Finally, electrical and/or electronic functional elements may be
incorporated or integrated, in a manner known per se, into such an
insulating glazing unit. These may be located just as well in the
space between the panes as within a laminated pane used as rigid
pane, if they cannot be installed on one of the external faces or
if it is not desired to install them thereon. For example,
functional elements such as electrochromic or electroluminescent
screens, lamps, display screens, solar cells, sensors, indicators,
heating elements and/or antennas may be envisioned here. Likewise,
nonelectrical elements, such as for example thermochromic or
photochromic surface elements, such as naturally transparent and/or
opaque coatings, in particular thermal barriers and/or light
filters and/or color filters, may be combined with insulating
glazing units according to the invention.
Insulating glazing units of the type described here are suitable
for a wide variety of uses, both in vehicles and in buildings. For
example, these insulating glazing units may be used for vehicle
windows, for example in buses--and here preferably in the region
passing from the side windows to the roof. The curved pane is then
placed on the outside and is matched to the external outline. The
inner pane, whether flat or curved differently, may then be
provided with additional functional elements, for example surface
lamps, or with other additional equipment.
Further details and advantages of the subject of the invention will
become apparent from the drawings of an exemplary embodiment and by
its detailed description that follows.
In these drawings, which are schematic representations with no
particular scale:
FIG. 1 is a view of an insulating glazing unit produced according
to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same insulating glazing unit
along the line of section II-II indicated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows two views of segments of the spacer frame for the
insulating glazing unit according to FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded representation of an insulating glazing unit
according to the invention before the curved rigid pane is placed
on the prepared spacer frame; and
FIG. 5 is a detail of the glazing unit shown in FIG. 1, showing in
detail the circled region of FIG. 1, including an
overthickness.
FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an insulating glazing unit 1 comprising
an upper curved rigid pane 2 and a subjacent flat rigid pane 3. In
the embodiment discussed here, the flat pane extends beyond the
outline of the curved pane 2 by a few centimeters so as to form a
stepped insulating glazing unit.
Indicated beneath the upper pane 2 is the outline of a spacer frame
4, which extends on the periphery over the entire perimeter of the
insulating glazing unit 1 and which defines, with the main internal
faces of the two rigid panes 2 and 3, a space between the panes
that is impermeable to air and moisture.
The reference 5 denotes the inner edge of a naturally opaque
colored layer, which is deposited in the form of a frame on the
inner face of one or both rigid panes 2/3 and which surrounds the
actual, transparent, viewing field of the insulating glazing unit.
This colored layer serves, on the one hand, in a manner known per
se, for visually masking the elastomer spacer frame 4 and its joins
where it is bonded to the two rigid panes, and, on the other hand,
for protecting the elastomer material and the layers or beads of
adhesive from UV radiation and from the embrittlement/loss of
adhesion that results in the long term therefrom.
The opaque colored layer is not opaque in the representation, so as
to make the spacer frame visible. It may moreover also extend
beyond the protruding edge on one side of the pane 3.
The curvature of the pane 2 is not visible in FIG. 1 because it
rises in the opposite direction to the viewing direction, and
therefore out of the plane of the drawing.
A view in cross-section on the line II-II of FIG. 1, shown in FIG.
2, illustrates the shape and the configuration of the spacer frame
4 in the curvature region. In the rest of the perimeter of the
glazing unit, where the edges of the panes are mutually parallel
(longitudinal edges), the spacer frame is simply straight and has a
constant cross-section. As already mentioned, it may also be
produced here with conventional metal section frame segments.
It should be emphasized that the arc height above the chord in the
curvature region (here along the short lateral edges of the
insulating glazing unit) may lie within the range of a few
millimeters (between >0 and about 6 mm) depending on the length
of the chord. To give an example, a radius of curvature of about
2000 mm may be mentioned for a chord of about 300 mm with a glass
thickness of 4 mm. This results in a maximum arc height above the
chord of about 5.5 mm.
In FIG. 2, it may also be seen that, on the one hand, the spacer
frame 4 is reinforced by a metal insert 4M, which is not visible in
FIG. 1. This insert 4M has a constant cross-section. The raw
material for the spacer frame 4 is continuously manufactured in the
form of an extruded (for example coextruded) section and cut to the
desired length. In this case, it is not particularly difficult for
the bonding points between section segments to be closed off
sufficiently, because the material is plastically highly deformable
and also possesses good adhesion to the usual filling, sealing and
bonding materials.
Be that as it may, the corner zones, which in this representation
lie on both sides of the visible segment of the spacer frame 4, may
be produced without any difficulty by bending the material. As may
be seen by comparison with FIG. 1, the straight spacer-bar segments
on the longitudinal sides of the insulating glazing unit, in which
the cross-section is invariant, are joined to these corner
zones.
It may also be seen in FIG. 2 that the spacer frame 4 is slightly
set back towards the interior, on the periphery, relative to the
outer edges of the two panes 2 and 3. Placed in a manner known per
se in the peripheral groove that remains, after completion of the
bonding between the spacer frame and the rigid panes, is a
polysulfide secondary sealant, not shown here, which preferably
entirely fills said groove.
Finally, it may be seen that, in the embodiment illustrated here,
the metal insert 4M is slightly off-center relative to the
longitudinal extension of the spacer frame 4.
In FIG. 3, this is shown on a slightly larger scale by means of an
elevational view and of a cross-sectional view flipped over to the
right. This arrangement is admittedly not absolutely necessary for
manufacturing an insulating glazing unit according to the
invention, but it is also possible to work with conventional
symmetrical sections provided that there is sufficient elastomer
material that can be displaced at the side of the insert.
The basic embodiment of this spacer frame is known from document DE
30 02 904 A1 mentioned in the introduction. Another variant is
provided here in that the metal insert 4M is open facing one side
or, in other words, it is embedded in the elastomer material in an
open channel on one side. In the mounted state, the opening of the
channel is located to the outside, and therefore on the opposite
side from the space between the panes, and it cannot be seen by the
observer. On the side turned toward the space between the panes,
the spacer frame presents a closed unitary image.
The compression of the spacer frame 4 from the initial state (shown
for example in FIG. 3) and from the deformed state between the
curved pane 2 and the flat pane 3, with a variable cross-section in
the longitudinal direction (indicated in FIG. 3 by a broken curved
line with substantial shortening in perspective of the possible
arc), takes place in the direction of the transverse extension of
the metal insert 4M, which is by nature flat, but slightly
corrugated in order to facilitate the deformation (flexure).
Consequently, its width must everywhere be less than the minimum
distance between the two rigid panes 2/3 so that the metal does not
come into contact with the faces of the panes.
The opening on one side of the channel formed in the elastomer
material of the spacer frame for the metal insert 4M facilitates
displacement of the elastomer material necessary for the variation
in cross-section. This flows in the compressed state on the one
hand toward the side (the spacer frame must therefore be slightly
thicker there), it may however also be displaced in the initially
open channel and partly or entirely fill the latter. If required,
either the elastomer material of the spacer frame is deformed while
it is still in the hot state after hot deposition, or the material
is heated for this deformation operation, if it is not sufficiently
plastically deformable at the usual operational temperatures
(ambient temperature).
FIG. 4 is an exploded representation showing, by way of an example,
in the form of an empty drawing, the various parts needed for
making up an insulating glazing unit 1 according to the invention
before the curved pane 2 is put into position. The latter already
has its curved base shape before it is put into position. It is
also provided with a colored surround layer, which in reality is
opaque but indicated only by its inner edge 5, as in FIG. 1. Placed
on the flat pane 3, along its outer edges and slightly set back
toward the inside, are four segments of a spacer section, each
comprising two segments 4.1 and 4.2. It may be clearly seen that
the segments 4.2, which will be adapted to the curved edges of the
pane 2, are higher than the segments 4.1 along the straight
longitudinal edges of the insulating glazing unit 1. Drawn in the
segments 4.2 is a broken line 4A, which reproduces the arc of the
edges of the curved pane, and thus also the outline that these
segments 4.2 have after the curved pane has been put in position
and pressed.
The state of deformation of the curved pane 2, illustrated in FIG.
2 and indicated in FIG. 4, may be achieved in various ways. As a
general rule, a precurved pane 2 of cylindrical shape is put in
position on the spacer frame already placed on the flat pane 3 and
the (longitudinal) edges are pressed, possibly in several steps,
toward the flat pane 3 until the highest region of the arc of the
curvature of the pane 2 is also securely joined to the spacer frame
4 by bonding. Again in this crown region, at least a slight
deformation will therefore be caused by safety, by compressing the
elastomer material. A precurved pane 2 is not necessarily still
further deformed during this operation, except possibly in the
elastic deformation region, a surface support for the entire arc
being possible here, if required, in order to avoid breakage.
However, it is also possible for the curved pane 2 to be deformed
cold, in its elastic deformability range, by a similar pressing
operation starting from an initially flat shape, when the material
of the pane is not too thick. With such an initial shape, if only
the (longitudinal) edges are loaded, a curvature of the pane due to
the reaction of the spacer frame 4 to be deformed will necessarily
be established. In addition, a defined amount of the arc height may
be achieved by a central support in the curvature region (which is
effective between the inner faces of the two rigid panes in the
region of the peripheral outer groove) or also by a curvature
template temporarily placed between the two rigid panes parallel to
the spacer frame to be deformed.
Of course, other combinations of the two methods may also be
envisioned. For example, an initially slightly precurved pane may
be brought elastically to its final curved shape during the
pressing operation. This has the advantage that the restoring
forces acting on the bonded spacer frame are not as high as in the
case of a pane going from the flat state while cold.
After the final curing, bonding, etc. of the assemblies bonded
together between the spacer frame and the rigid panes, and after
the elastomer material itself has solidified, the elastically
curved pane will retain the desired shape without other measures
having to be taken. Such a procedure is known per se also in the
case of curved laminated panes.
* * * * *
References